After giving hundreds of talks about sexual communication to people at the University of Pennsylvania, Laura Kingsley was surprised by how shocked the majority of her peers were upon seeing an anatomical diagram of a clitoris for the first time.

Kingsley wanted to create a collaborative and creative way to raise awareness about the clitoris. In 2016, she launched the global art project, Clitorosity, a community-driven effort to celebrate the clitoris and connect people to their bodies.

“There are billions of people with clitorises, yet this part of the body remains largely misunderstood,” Kingsley says. “The clitoris is often regarded as a mystery and as a small structure external to the body. We want to change that.”

More than 120 people from 18 U.S. states and five countries have joined to draw chalk murals of the female sex organ in their cities. The drawings are usually accompanied by a witty quote that relates to its location.

At first glance, passers-by often mistake them for octopuses.

“Even if you don’t have a clitoris or aren’t interested in sexually engaging with someone who does, we hope to inspire you to learn more about your own body and to celebrate its capacity for pleasure,” Kingsley says.